Ripples In the Water
by andysiri123
Summary: They shouldn't be gone but they are. And here the nine of us are once again, a year later for what Josh says will be "healing." No partying, no hooking up, instead twisted games and the sense of something always lurking around the corner. What dangers are in store for the group of friends and will they all survive until dawn? (Rated T-M for language.)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Mindless Prank

"Andy lost! Drink!" Chris shouted at me. We were joined by our other good friend Josh, who contributed in trying to make me drink the dark whiskey. We had been playing for a while and the rule was whoever lost had to take a shot...I was really regretting making that stupid rule up.

"You guys I can't!" I groaned and looked at Chris through my barely open eyes. "This is like my fifth one, look at my face." I slurred as I felt my whole body and face become hotter and hotter. "I was finished three shots ago."

"How is it that you get the Asian glow and Emily doesn't?" Josh laughed.

"It's not fair." I whined.

"You now what's not fair? That shot glass is still full." Josh persisted.

I gave him a drunken look, "You should be taking it for dragging me all the way up here."

"Whatever, you know you love it up here." He laughed. I looked at the both of them through my blurred vision before trying to concentrate in front of me at the shot glass filled to the brim with the dark liquor. Taking one deep breath I downed the shot and felt it burn the back of my throat and chest before settling in my stomach.

"There's the Andy we know and love!" I heard someone yell from behind and turned to see a blurred figure until he got closer and I could see Mike's handsome features followed by Sam, Emily and Jess. "Let's keep this party going!" He exclaimed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"We've played all the card games and Andy has lost the most...just look at him." Chris laughed, a little drunk himself.

"Aww someone can't handle their liquor?" Mike teased and pinched my cheek. I just pouted my lips and pulled away from him. "How about a good ole game of spin the bottle?" He smiled and bit his lips as he pulled me closer to him. He continued to tease and poke me until Emily scoffed up.

"Babe, are you in the 7th grade?" She huffed with her arms crossed and popped her hip out. I could feel myself falling in and out of consciousness as I heard Sam and Jess arguing on about something until Chris interrupted.

He lout a big sigh and had a grin on his face, "Andy..you're cute." He smiled without his eyes open and rested his head on the countertop. I looked to my other side and see Josh already passed out and Chris was about to join him.

I followed the others and began to rest my head on the countertop. I let out big sigh before finally laying my head down.

But as soon as I did I heard someone yelling, "Don't you guys think this is a little bit cruel?"It was Sam's voice she must have been getting into it with Jess.

My eyes were a little closed but I could still hear the girls arguing. "It's not her fault she has a huge crush on Mike." I heard Sam's voice again and I knew they were talking about Hannah.

"Wh-wait..s-stop.." I tried mumbling but I guess they couldn't understand or hear me. I thought Hannah's crush was purely innocent and whatever was about to happen I could feel it was about to get out of hand so I tried to get up no matter how incoherent I sounded. I was standing up but it felt like I was in the washing machine being spun around. My voice made a noise to speak up but nothing came out and I nearly fumbled over. I felt like I was suddenly yanked away. My feet were no longer on the ground. My arms and legs dangled as I felt strong arms carrying me.

"Oh Ryan Gosling..." I slurred.

"Gosling got nothing on me baby." Someone replied and it sounded a lot like Mike. He was carrying me out of the kitchen. I had no idea where he was taking me but the only thing that mattered to me was trying not to throw up. I could hear the yelling becoming quieter and quieter until it was just muffled noise. All of sudden I felt my body being laid down and soft cushions against my face.

"Last to drink and first to pass out." Mike chuckled.

"I can still hear you." I drunkenly replied and rubbed my face.

"Shhh." Mike hushed me and put a finger up to my lips, "I would have drank for you, you know." He laughed and I felt him push the hair from my forehead, "Then I'd be in that bed with you."

I didn't know if I heard him correctly but I just figured I was drunk and this was just Mike being Mike. As long as I've known him, he's like that straight friend that touches and flirts with you constantly but always has a girlfriend. But some people might have thought he liked grabbing my ass a little too much.

I just let out a groan and turned over. My eyes were heavily resting and a drunk grin was plastered on my face.

I heard Mike let out a huff before telling me goodnight and finally leaving me to sleep. It only felt like a few minutes had passed but I'm sure it was more like an hour or so. My drunken sleep was interrupted by some kind of commotion coming from outside of the room I was in. There was a split second of laughter followed by yelling.

"Relax Hann it was just a joke!" Someone yelled and I quickly recognized it as Emily's, her voice was unapologetic and insincere. I could see her saying that with her resting bitch face on. I shuffled around in bed and ignored all the talking coming from outside and returned to my alcohol induced sleep.

* * *

 **So I've decided to redo some chapters. I just wanted to clean up the story a little bit and change a few things.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Aftermath

There's not much I remember from that night..towards the end it was all just one big blur. I woke up the next morning with barely any memory of how I got to where I was and a huge hangover. Everyone was frantic and anxious; Josh and Sam especially. I hadn't seen the twins since the night before; something didn't feel right. And that feeling continued when hours went by and then days.

Now it's been 3 months and there was nothing new about the disappearance of Beth and Hannah. I saw articles in the newspaper and stuff on the TV; it was everywhere..like a constant reminder.

A few more weeks went on and I could slowly see Josh losing himself. He was no longer the cheerful goofball, instead he just isolated himself. I barely talked to the others, except for Sam and Chris. But other than that I don't think anyone else was talking. Honestly, after finding out what they did I probably wouldn't have paid much attention to them anyway.

I did a lot of things to keep myself busy; like picking up my karate again. But there would be nights where I lay there and I could recall blurry memories or remember something I heard. I knew something was happening, but I was too drunk to do anything but sleep. _I slept_. What kind of fucking friend am I to sleep through that whole night...

I found myself thinking about it constantly as I aggressively beat a practice dummy. Punches and kicks were thrown here and there. From the corner of my eye I suddenly saw someone walking towards me and I immediately recognized who it was.

"What do you want?" I quickly asked, not even turning to look at the person.

"Just..wanted to say hi." Mike spoke up. I took a rest from giving the dummy a beating and leaned on it as I looked at him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked again.

"...it's the gym Andy.." He huffed.

"I meant what is this right now? What do you want?" I repeated, getting slightly annoyed. I don't know why I was snapping at him..maybe because I felt like he partially responsible for what happened to Beth and Hannah.

"You're just the first person I've seen in awhile.." He shrugged,

"Aren't you still with Emily?" I questioned.

"Not really...look I can leave if you want me to you're clearly busy with whatever you have going on right now." He said and began to back away.

"Mike wait." I stopped him, "Do you..want to get lunch or something?" I signed.

"Sure." He half smiled.

The two of us ended up at some cafe and I wasn't even that hungry so I just ended up ordering some tea. I quietly sat there sipping away at my drink desperately looking out the window to avoid eye contact; I could cut the awkward tension with a knife.

"So how have you been?" Mike spoke up, breaking the silence.

"I've been-" I took in a deep breath,"Alright." I sighed.

"How are you?" I returned the question.

"Just been trying to keep busy..I've seen you coming to the gym a lot."

"And why are you just now deciding to say something to me?" I curiously asked.

"I just thought it was either now or never. I haven't really talked to anyone else beside Emily and Jessica." Mike shrugged.

"Of course." I scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He retorted.

"Nothing, that's who you are; Mike the Ladies Man. You had every girl swooning over you especially-" I was about to say her name but I quickly stopped myself.

"Too bad they disappeared..I've never had twins." Mike tried to joke but it obviously wasn't funny when he saw the expression on my face.

"Are you serious right now?" I snapped at him, I saw him try to speak up but his remark just sparked something inside of me and I just went off, "Do you always have to be a dick about everything? Here we were having somewhat of a conversation and then you say some douchey shit like that. You shouldn't be sitting here joking about it you should be feeling like an asshole, I partly blame you for why Hannah and Beth aren't here you know that don't you? And do you not have any remorse for how this has all affected Josh? I mean he-he's not the same person he was before the accident do you realize that?"

Mike's face got sheepish and some of what I said was a little overboard, but it was too late to take it back.

"I-I didn't-" he tried to speak up once more to calm me down.

I shook my head at him, "I'm gonna go." I cut him off and quickly got up and walked away leaving him there.

* * *

Other than getting out to punch a few practice dummies, I mostly just spent my time at home, but now I think it was time to get out. It's been maybe 8 months now and more than anything...I needed a drink. I decided last minute to go to some party that I had been invited to. It was probably around 11 when I arrived and when I walked in I was greeted with loud, bass bumping music and strobing lights, there was even a fog machine.

As I awkwardly tiptoed my way deeper inside of the house I saw all the drunken party goers dancing and gyrating on each other in the main room. From the corner of my eye I could have sworn I saw Jessica getting sandwiched between two guys;neither of which were Mike. He was actually the one that invited me, which was surprising since the last time we talked didn't end to well.

I didn't really take the time to look around for him..I was more focused on getting a drink. I made it to the backyard where the partying was still going strong but I finally found the table with the drinks. I made myself a concoction of some juices and vodka..lots and lots of vodka and just continued to people watch. I couldn't help but laugh as I watched everyone dancing their hearts out; as good or as bad as they thought. All of a sudden I felt someone bump into me from behind and I nearly spilled my drink all over myself.

"Watch out." I blurted out without even looking to see who it was.

"I-I'm sorry." I heard the person slur. "I'm looking for my friend."

I scrunched my face when I recognized the voice and quickly whipped around to see Mike with a big goofy smile on his face.

"Andy!" He yelled, "I found you!" He continued to drunkenly smile. "You need to get on this level." He struggled to say before he grabbed my hand and brought my drink up to my mouth. If it was any other time I would have stopped him, but I downed that drink like I hadn't had anything to drink in days. And quickly after I think I was past Mike's level. My face quickly grew hot and my body began to move on it's own.

The two of us were arm and arm, laughing our asses off at everything and anything. All of a sudden I felt him grab my hand and he began to pull me inside. For a second I thought we were going to dance but he just kept dragging me until we made it to some stairs and we made our way up; helping each other walk as we did. We went inside one of the many rooms and he quickly closed the door; it was amazing how the noise was blocked out in an instant.

"What are we doing in here?" I giggled.

"I-" MIke sighed, "I just wanted to say sorry about the other time. What I said about Hannah and Beth."

I was taken aback and I just sat there staring at him, "It's okay Mike." I smiled as he came and sat down beside me. "I'm sorry for what I said too.."

"I deserved it." He laughed.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "You did."

He just let out a laugh before looking at me, it was quiet. I finally looked back at him with a smirk on my face, "What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing" Mike just laughed and looked away,"...there's just something I've always wanted to do-" I heard him say and then my breath was suddenly taken away. Mike's lips were firmly pressed against my own and his hand was lightly placed on my check. We broke apart for air but my arms had moved around his neck and I quickly pulled him back in.

My face continued to get hotter and hotter and I couldn't tell if it was from the alcohol or not anymore. The room was getting warmer every time we broke apart; his neck was beginning to get a little clammy and I was sure sweat was rolling down my face.

"Wait. Stop." I quickly spoke and pushed him away. "You're just drunk." I breathed and quickly got up.

Now I remembered why I didn't drink. Everything was spinning again as I stumbled down the stairs I didn't seem to notice the last step when I suddenly lost my footing and I braced myself for the impact but nothing; someone caught me. I saw through my squinted eye a familiar blonde.

"Chris?" I struggled to say.

"Going somewhere?" He chuckled as he still had his hands on me.

"Th-thanks." I stuttered and recollected myself. "I-I home." I managed to say.

"There is no way in hell I'm letting you drive." Chris laughed. "I'll drive you." He offered and quickly took my keys.

I was placed in my car and somehow being completely still made my head spin even more. Thankfully I didn't live that far so it was a quick trip. I tried to get out of the car by myself but failed and ended up needing Chris' help. He took me into my room and I was placed into my bed. I was having a bad case of deja vu and it was probably just the alcohol but I was feeling a little scared of what was going to happen next.

"Goodnight drunky." Chris laughed.

"Chris wait." I quickly stopped him, "..please stay."

"Okay...now I know you're really drunk." He scoffed.

"I'm being serious." I replied, "I just..don't want to be alone."

"O-okay, I'll be here until you fall asleep." Chris stuttered and awkwardly sat at the end of my bed.

"Just lay down." I demanded, my drunken self coming back out. My bed was definitely big enough for the both of us to sleep on each end but strangely enough I wanted him closer. I moved the blanket aside and patted the area right next to me.

"You're being weird." Chris said cautiously but he still did what I told him.

He took his glasses off and quickly slid in beside me. I was lying on my side so we were face to face.

"Goodnight." I smiled.

"Goodnight you weirdo." He laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Reunion

It's officially been one year since Hannah and Beth's disappearance and I never thought I'd be back on this mountain. Yet here I was sitting next to Sam as the both of us were the only two passengers on the bus. She had one earphone in and was listening to the Radio From the Pines; they were presumably talking about what happened up here. I don't think I could handle listening, but Sam and Hannah were close so I didn't want to bother her. As soon as she was done listening I saw her flick over to the video Josh sent everyone and I nudged her for an earbud.

I hear him open up with, "Hello friends and fans." He was more cheery and lively than I've seen him in a while. He was talking about how this trip would be a time for all us to get together to grief and "party like porn stars" as he put it. As the video came to an end we were nearing our stop and Sam and I exchanged uneasy looks.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Just anxious." She sheepishly smiled.

"No turning back now." I smiled back at her before looking ahead at the Blackwood Pines sign dangling before us. Behind it held the snowy covered forest and path that led to cable car which would lead us to the Washington Lodge. "Here we go." I sighed and took a step forward.

Everything was quiet and still as Sam and I followed the snow filled path. It was a bit unsettling as we trudged through the snow. Something was different and I just couldn't put my finger on it. I was noticing things I had never noticed before, things that made this walk through the forest feel like a walk on death row and it was making me feel on edge. On top of that I had this gut wrenching feeling like we were being watched...or followed.

"Shouldn't you be in front?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"W-well you know..ladies first.." I stuttered as I partially hid behind Sam and closely tailed behind her. I could hear her slightly chuckle every time I would flinch at something. "Do you not find this creepy at all?"

"I'm more nervous than anything." She replied.

"Excited to see Josh?" I teased.

"N-No w-why would you even ask that?"

Even though it was nighttime and freezing I could tell Sam was blushing as she denied it. All of a sudden there was a loud sound of a branch snapping and the two of us quickly whipped our heads towards the sound.

My voice shook as I spoke, "Tell me you heard that too."

"Hello? Who's there?" Sam suddenly spoke up but there was nothing but silence.

"Do you want us to die?!" I exclaimed.

"It was probably just a deer." She shook her head and continued to walk ahead.

"Yeah..Bambi wants revenge.." I mumbled before running to catch up with Sam.

Finally, we made it to the cable car station where we were supposed to be meeting Chris but he was nowhere to be found. All we could see was his backpack on a bench.

"Chris?" I called out, "Are you here?"

"Here's his bag," Sam pointed out, "You're not in the bag are you?" She said as we got closer to see his phone shining at us through one of the pockets. I nonchalantly take the phone out of the bag and look at who was texting him, "Aww look it's a text from Ash." I smiled and showed Sam. I was about to read the message when I heard someone's voice come up from behind us and a hand clasp my shoulder. I nearly fell over from the shock when I turned around to see Chris.

"Hey nosey." He smiled and quickly snatched the phone from my hands.

"You scared the hell out of me!" I gasped.

"Serves you right." He laughed. "Oh! So I found something kind of amazing." He changed the subject and went to grab his bag before leading Sam and I to the back of the cable car station.

"Were you guys sexting? Did you finally profess your undying love for her?" I pestered my friend as we followed him to see whatever it was he wanted to show us.

"Where are you taking us?" Sam spoke up.

"Just wait, It's gonna blow your mind." Chris answered, clearly ignoring my teasing.

Walking to the back I saw some sort of makeshift shooting range and Chris gladly took it upon himself to start shooting various bottles and cans. While the others occupied themselves with the shooting range there was something I saw that caught my eye earlier and I decided to see what it was. Walking back around the cabin i saw something tacked against the side and when I got a closer look I noticed it was a wanted poster of Victor Milgram.

"First degree arsonists...last seen March 16, _1998?!"_ I murmured to myself and it sent a chill down my spine. That's when I heard the sound of the cable car coming and I quickly returned to the others, "Hey you guys! The cable car!" I shouted.

"Just one more!" Chris shouted back.

"Come on Texas Ranger I think that's enough." I replied.

"Damn I was just getting started too." He said as they caught up to me. "It's weird being back here after a whole year." He suddenly admitted.

"Yeah.." Sam sighed, "The moment I got here it all just came flooding back."

"A year goes by fast.." I thought out loud before seeing Sam attempting to open the doors to the cable car station. I heard Chris explain something about Josh wanting to keep it locked because he found people sleeping inside of it. "This place is definitely creepier than what I remember." I spoke up after Chris opened the door for us to only see the cable car wasn't here yet.

"I could be doing more target practice." Chris commented as I firmly planted my hands on the guard rail and watched as the cable car slowly inched closer and closer. I was too captivated by what was in front of me I didn't pay attention to Chris and Sam's conversation. But it wasn't the beauty that caught my attention, it was the sheer awe and terror of my surroundings. The skyscraping mountains and the thick clouds of fog took over my line of view and all I could see were the outlines and ridges of the mountains. It was like we were being swallowed up by the darkness; I was probably just paranoid.

I felt a nudge that broke me out of my trance, "You coming or what?" Sam asked when I saw the cable car had finally arrived.

"Let's do this." I nervously smiled before finally stepping in. I sat in between Sam and Chris to try and take some of their body heat.

"Cold?" Sam chuckled.

"It's a little nippy." I shivered.

"Get excited!" Chris said to me and shook my shoulder. "The adventure begins!"

"I hope this was the right choice.." Sam thought which Chris expressed his confusion with a, "What."

Sam went on to talk about how if it was a good idea to get everyone back together on the anniversary. And how we all haven't seen Josh this pumped about something in a long time. "I just wonder if everyone else feels the same." Sam thought.

"We're all here aren't we?" I replied as I stared out the window as we slowly ascended into the darkness of the mountains. We finally came to a stop and when I tried to open the door it wouldn't budge. Right when I pounded on the window I see a blonde with two pigtails walk up and she jumps back when she see's the three of us staring back at her.

"Ahh! What the hell?" She exclaimed.

"Hey Jess!" I yelled and pounded on the door again.

"Were you guys having a weird stroke or something?" She grunted.

"Oh you know..just having a little party of our own." I joked and began to stroke Chris' cheek and he quickly played along by giving Jessica a smug smile and raising his eyebrows at her.

"Can you let us out? Pretty please? I can't be stuck in here with these two." Sam laughed. Jess hurriedly pressed a button which finally let the three of us out.

"Thank god! Ten more minutes and I would have eaten my own leg!" Chris exaggerated.

"Yeah..Riiight." Sam scoffed.

All of a sudden I see Chris snatch something some Jess' hand, "Hm looks like our someone has a little crush on our beloved friend and class president Mike." Just hearing his name left a sour taste in my mouth. "What kind of handwritten erotica do we have here?" Chris continued to tease.

"Give me that!" Jessica exclaimed and quickly snatched the letter back.

"Aren't we a little too old to be passing letters like that Jessica?" I added to Chris' teasing.

"Em and Mike split. He and I are..having fun." She haughtily admitted. For some odd reason I had the sudden urge to throw a snowball into that smug face of hers. "That's right, Em is out and I'm in." she continued and the more she talked the more the feelings got stronger I didn't know what it was or why I was even feeling this way..

"Alright alright whatever. Let's just get up to the lodge already, getting tired of all this nature and junk." Chris expressed.

"You guys go ahead. I'm going to wait for a bit..see who else is coming."

"You mean Mike?" I flatly replied.

Jessica played dumb. "What-I mean whatever."

"Hopefully it's a bear." I mumbled to myself and quickly followed behind Chris and Sam.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Mr. Munroe

Upon coming up to the lodge we were happily greeted by Josh. I haven't seen him this animated in a while. He really took the his sisters disappearing really hard..it was kind of weird that he wanted us all together on their anniversary. But I didn't think about it too much I was just happy to see him up and about.

"Josh!" I exclaimed and went to give him a hug.

"You guys made it!" He widely grinned.

"I swear this mountain gets bigger and bigger every time I climb it." Chris expressed.

"I thought this was all muscle?" I teased Chris and slapped him on the thigh making Josh laugh.

"Come on," He said and turned around for us to follow him, "Hey gang..you guys get up here okay?" Josh asked. I looked ahead at who he was talking to and saw Matt and Ashley sitting at the base of stairs that led up to the lodge.

"The door is frozen shut." I heard someone's voice as they descended the stairs and saw no one other than the macho man himself; Mike. "Oh hey guys!" He exclaimed and ran down to greet us. He gave Sam and Chris their respective handshake or hug and when he got to me he had his arms wide open and a big grin across his face.

"Hey guys how have you been?" I asked Matt and Ashley as I brush past Mike. While I talked to the pair, Chris and Josh went off to figure out how to get the door unlocked.

"Uh-Hey Andy." I heard Mike try to talk to me once again and turn around to see him nervously scratching his head.

"Hi Mike." I sighed. All of a sudden he quickly pulled me aside, away from the others, "Dude what the hell?" I quickly snap.

"Look, we're going to be stuck together all weekend don't you think we should talk about what happened?"

"Personally I'm a fan of avoiding something until I eventually forget about it." I sarcastically remarked. "Why do you even care? Shouldn't you be headed off to meet Jessica?"

"Good idea." Mike agreed and suddenly put his arm around my shoulders, "Hey you guys! We're going to get Jessica!" he shouted to the others.

"Th-that's not what I-" I began to protest before getting cut off my Matt, "Do you guys mind checking on Emily too? She forgot her bag or something." he asked us. Mike gave him a thumbs up and pulled me along back down the path to the cable car much to my dismay. When we were finally a good distance away I threw his arm off of me and threw my hands in the air and just looked at him like, "What the hell?"

"It was your idea." He shrugged.

I shook my head at him, "You're unbelieveable."

"Thanks." He grinned.

"I didn't mean that in a good way. Ass." I scoffed, "And as much as I love being third wheel, why in the hell did you say _we_ were going to get Jessica?"

"So that we could finally talk..without the others hearing. Come on Andy, get with the program." Mike said and lightly nudged me.

"Obviously I don't want to talk to you." I blatantly replied.

All of sudden I quickly stopped in my tracks when I heard a weird noise come out of nowhere and grabbed Mike's arm so he would stop walking. "Do you hear that?"

It almost sounded like footsteps and they seemed to be getting closer and closer. "I don't-" Mike started before I cut him off with a "shh." I quickly turned around to see some type of animal charging right at me. I abruptly felt someone grab my arms and jerk me forward, "Watch it!" Mike exclaimed and I saw his face mere inches from mine. I could feel his hot breath on my face as he stared at me.

"Okay." I quickly said and pushed away. My face was getting hot but it must have been from almost getting mauled by whatever was running at us. "Thanks I guess.." I suddenly spoke after we had been walking in silence for a few minutes.

Mike just let out a laugh and nudged my shoulder with his, "You're welcome." he smirked, "And If you don't want to talk about what happened we don't have to."

"I thought we were, and I quote ' _Never going to talk about it'_ " I replied.

"Well..I meant around other people." Mike shrugged his shoulders, "I'm still trying to figure this out.."

I crossed my arms, "Figure what out? You were drunk..I was drunk. We kissed and that's it. Come on Mike..it was just a kiss I'm not going to fall in love with you or anything." I laughed.

"I can't say the same.." He quickly replied, cutting my laughter short. I looked at him and expected to burst out laughing but he had the most serious expression on his face, like he was anticipating my reaction. But I just continued laughing out of nervousness.

"This better not be another prank," I muttered and let out a deep sigh. A small cloud of my hot breath swirled around in front of me in the cold mountain air.

"I'm not a complete ass." He huffed.

I nervously laughed again, "Had me fooled.."

Mike stared at me, "Can you be serious for a second?"

"I-I don't-How did you expect me to react!?" I gulped.

"I'm just being upfront you." Mike replied. "I can't control how you react..I'm just hoping you'll understand.."

"Mike. I-I clearly don't understand, what are you trying to get from this? You drag me out here in the freezing cold..to talk about your feelings? I don't-"

I began to nervously babble and stutter, I was going to say more until I was suddenly pulled forward. Naturally my eyes closed as I felt a surge of warmth that rushed through my body. I felt his hands on the sides of my arms and I felt like I was going to melt in them as he gently grasped them. The smell of his cologne got stronger and stronger the longer our lips connected.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?!" I exclaimed when I broke away from him.

Mike just shook his head and looked around, "I thought it was pretty obvious.." He smirked and leaned his face in again.

"Dude no!" I stopped him, "This?" I pointed back and forth from him to me, "W-What is this? What is happening?!" I confusingly asked. I was completely thrown off and didn't know how or what I was supposed to be feeling. "You're supposed to be the "ladies man" a-are you a "man's man" now?" I asked.

"I-I don't know. I'm just rolling with the feelings." Mike shook his head, "That's what I'm trying to figure out on this trip. Didn't you ever think how strange it was how differently I act around you and not the other guys?"

"I-I just thought that was you being you!" I replied in disbelief, "I mean yeah at first it really messed with my head..but I just sort of got used to it."

"Well..yeah it messed with my head to when I realized how nice it felt when I hugged you..I liked having you in my arms.." He awkwardly admitted as he scratched his head.

"Wow." I sighed as I looked at the usual confident class president freaking out and stressfully pacing back and forth. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "This would have been the perfect timing if I still liked you.." I shook my head.

"This isn't funny." He panicked, but his expression quickly changed and he eyed me, "W-wait come again? You liked me?!"

"Past tense." I clarified, getting a little flustered. "We've been gone for a while the others are probably worried." I quickly tried to change the subject.

"They'll be fine." Mike replied and grinned at me with all of his teeth.

"Why is your face like that?" I stared at him.

"You liked me." He chuckled.

"How many times do I have to say it.. _liked._ " I emphasized, "Besides aren't you with Jessica?"

"..She's just a distraction." he replied, "Why? Are you you jealous?" He smirked.

"Oh please.." I sighed, "You wish. Let's just head back to the lodge." I laughed and started walking back.

"That wasn't a no!" Mike exclaimed as he caught up to me and put an arm around my shoulder. All of a sudden I heard a branch snap to the right of me and I quickly looked to see nothing but trees and beyond them was the pitch black darkness.

There was another rustling sound beyond the scrawny twisted branches.

And then another.

"Should I check it out?" Mike offered.

"No. Never." I strongly refused, "Let's just hurry back." I murmured and continued forward but not before hearing another sound come from behind us and I quickly whipped around to see a small cloud of snow settling onto the ground as if something had just run through it.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Haunted

Mike and I made back to the lodge to see they had finally gotten the door open. I forgot how massive this place was, "What's up party people?!" Mike exclaimed as we walked in, his voice echoed throughout the whole lodge. Everything was exactly how I remembered it which made me feel a little uneasy since the last time we were all here two of our friends went missing. Shortly after we arrived Jess walked in and practically attacked Mike with her lips. I quickly walked away from the two and joined Josh.

"Make yourselves at home," Josh chuckled as he tried getting a fire started.

"Definitely colder than I remember." I joked with him all of a sudden I heard a haughty voice enter the lodge.

"Oh. My. God. That is so gross." I recognized Emily's voice and saw her standing there with her arms crossed as she glared at Mike and Jess on the couch. But there was a little part of me that was agreeing with her. "Are you trying to swallow his face whole? Seriously can she be any more obvious?" she continued.

"Em." Matt spoke up to try and calm her. He was apparently he her new boy toy. I blocked out the rest of the cat fighting and focused on trying to get this damn fire started, hopefully the boys could handle this. But as much as I tried to ignore it I couldn't, especially since the were both yelling right behind me, it was all "slut" this or "bitch" that I don't know if i could handle this all weekend.

All of a sudden I see Josh stand up, "Stop it!" he yelled, quickly shutting them all up. "This is not what we came up here for..this is not helping. This is not what I wanted. If you guys can't get along for ten minutes maybe we need a little break right? Mike why don't you check out that guest cabin I told you about." He suggested.

"Yeah, yeah sure." Mike reluctantly replied and pulled Jess along with him outside to get her to cool off.

"Whew! Glad that's over." Matt expressed but it didn't last long when Emily started acting like how she usually does and started complaining about one her designer bags being left behind and before I knew it they were leaving as well.

"Damn anyone else want to leave?" I spoke up, making whoever was left laugh.

"I'm off to take a bath." Sam sighed and made her way upstairs.

"I could probably use one to wash off all that tension." I laughed.

"Can I join?" Josh joked, "But no, could you give these keys to Mike? They're to the cabin?" he asked me.

I had no choice but to oblige and walked out through the back doors to hear Mike, "The coziest, most romantic love den you will ever lay your eyes on." Bleh I wanted to barf.

"Hey horn dogs, heads up." I said and tossed the keys at Mike, "And Josh says he's sorry for kicking you guys out."

"I'm sure we'll find a way to entertain ourselves." Jessica chuckled, "Have fun with the peanut gallery." She waved to me and descended the stairs.

"Hey Jess just wait for me down there, I forgot something." I heard Mike yell.

"What'd you forget, condoms?" I teased.

Mike tried reassuring me for some reason, "Nothing is going to happen, by the time we get there she'll be too tired to do anything except sleep."

"Oh sure." I replied sarcastically, "I'm sure there's going to be plenty of "sleeping" in this cozy romantic love den of yours." I continued to tease.

"Sounds like someone's jealous." Mike smirked.

"J-Jealous? Didn't you say you forgot something?" I reminded him.

"Oh yeah that's right." He smiled and suddenly ran up to me and gave me a light kiss, it happened so fast that I couldn't even push him away. "I got it!" I heard him yell to Jess as he jogged down the stairs. Looks like the old Mike was back.

I made my way back inside and found myself grinning for some odd reason until I saw no else back inside it was dead quiet except for the crackling of the wood burning in the fireplace.

"Hello?" I called out but all I could hear was my own echo. The last thing I wanted was to be left alone in this massive house, without electricity I might add.

All of a sudden I heard the creaking of a floorboard but I couldn't tell where it came from. "Anyone?" I tried once more before hearing the echoing of the floorboard. I looked towards the living room when I thought I had heard the noise come from there.

For some reason I found myself slowly creeping my way there, trying not to make any noise. I held all my breath when the living came into view. I was anticipating something but I didn't know what. My heart was beating faster and faster when all I saw was nothing. As soon as I let out my breath I felt someone grasped my shoulder. My body tightened up and my fist clenched together.

"Andy?" I heard a girl's voice and a wave of relief washed over me although my heart was still pounding.

"Ashley," I sighed and turned around to see the red head, "Where's everyone else?" I quickly asked.

"Josh and Sam went down to the basement and I think Chris went to go scare them." She chuckled, all of a sudden I saw her look past me and begin to laugh, "Oh my god, what are you wearing?"

I turned around to see Josh, Sam and a costumed Chris walking towards us, "That's a good look." I laughed when I noticed him dressed up in a monk robe.

"Did you find the thingy?" Ashley asked. And before I could even ask I saw Chris pull some sort of board out from underneath the robes.

"Here's our one way ticket to the spirit realm." He exclaimed, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"A ouija board." I mumbled to myself.

I don't know how it happened but the others convinced me to join them in their little seance. I never in my life would have messed with something like a spirit board, but Chris kept saying, "Do it for Josh," and I guess that's what ultimately convinced me. I never had much of a family and this little dysfunctional group of friends was the closest thing I've ever had to one.

So here we were in the dark, huddled around the spirit board with nothing but dim lighting from a few candles to barely highlight our faces.

"So it says here," Chris began and explained the rules, "to communicate with the spirit realm you must free your mind of all preconceptions, drop all your inhibitions and generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimating your every desire to the whims of the Spirit Master- Which is me-"

"Chris come on, this is serious." Josh stopped him.

"Yeah, let's just try this." Ashley added.

"Alright..let's see what happens." I nervously sighed as we all placed our hands on the board.

"Ashley, since you're the recent convert, why don't you be our medium today?" Chris suggested.

"Ok.." Ashley replied, "Is anyone here? Will you reveal yourself..if you're there?" She asked and the four of us each placed a finger on the triangular shaped piece of wood. I held my breath in anticipation of what was going to happen then all of a sudden the planchette shifted into the middle on the of the board. I let out my breath and it quickly turned into a nervous panting. The others were caught off guard as well. Josh, Ashley and I were all stunned while Chris seemed to be not taking it serious at all since he kept laughing.

"Did you move it?" Josh quickly asked Ashley.

"I didn't do anything!" She panicked and before we could recuperate from the wood piece moving the first time it quickly moved again but this time it went over the letter H. While the others are too busy asking each other who moved it the planchette shifted to another letter and I couldn't help but closely watch in shock as it spelled something out.

"Y-You guys..it just spelled out help." I spoke up, quieting everyone.

"...how are we supposed to help?" Chris replied, his humorous tone replaced with something a little more serious, "We need to know who it is if we're supposed to help them." And that's when the three of us looked to Ashley.

"O-ok..who's there? Who is this?" She shakingly asked and surely enough the piece began to move again.

"Sister?" I exhaled.

"Whose sister?" Josh quickly asked.

"Oh come on!" Chris exclaimed, "Is this for real?"

"Shut up" Josh told him, "Whose sister?" He demanded.

"Josh..it's..it's gotta be-" Ashley began

"Yeah? Ok ask which sister then." He demanded once more.

Ashley took a deep breath before looking around the room, "Who are we speaking to? Hannah...is that you?" she asked. Once again I held my breath in anticipation before I felt the piece move and land on the yes in the left corner of the board.

"You guys..w-we shouldn't be doing this." I panicked and looked to Josh. "We need to cut it off right now." I tried.

"No." He shook his head, "I want to hear what it says."

"I don't know where to start.." Ashley shrugged.

"Think about it," Chris spoke, "If this is actually Hannah we can really find out what happened that night." We all shot Josh a concerned look before anything could go further, "I can handle it." he nodded. As Ashley continued to question the spirit were finding out more and more. And as we continued I could visibly see Josh getting startled and confused by it all. I found myself feeling the same way everything as everything that was revealed on the board was all new to not just Josh but probably Chris and I since the three of us were passed out that night. The "Hannah" we were talking to said she was killed. Ashley was shaken up as well when all I could hear was her apologizing over and over.

"Who killed you?" the redhead asked when we had all somewhat calmed down. The board quickly spells out "library" and before any of us knows it the board begins to violently shake and the pointer is flung off the board.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed and jumped back, I could feel my heart about to beat out of my chest.

"You know what?" Josh spoke up and suddenly began to stand, "No, this is bullshit. This isn't real-"

"Josh, I don't know what's going on!" Ashley pleaded.

I saw our friend shaking his head and look at us with an accusing glare, " Listen, I don't know..I don't know if you think messing with me is somehow going to help deal with my grief or whatever but this isn't cool."

"Wh-Josh!" I exclaimed, "You wanted to use the spirit board." I tried but he wasn't having it. He quickly stormed out of the room in an angry fit blaming us for what just happened. "Shit.." I sighed and slumped down into a chair, "This is why I don't mess with this kind of stuff!" I exclaimed. I sat there and tried to comprehend what just happened. I didn't even know if I had the mental capacity to know if what just happened was real.

"We need to go the library." Ashley spoke up.

"Are you crazy?!" I replied, "How do we even know if that was really Hannah?"

"Well..I guess you'll just have to stay here all by yourself then." Chris spoke up as he got up to follow behind Ashley.

"Oh no, fuck that. You guys are not leaving me here." I replied and quickly jumped up from my seat and practically hid behind Chris and Ashley as the three of us made our way to the library.

"Do you think it went too far..like maybe we shouldn't have brought up his sisters?" Ashley asked as we descended some stairs.

"Well that is why we're here." Chris replied.

"Well..talking to a spirit really wasn't on my top 10 things to do up here." I sarcastically replied as we came up to the library. We cautiously walked in and as soon as we do books from a bookshelf come flying off towards us. "Oh my god!" I cried.

"You guys ok?" Chris asked.

"No!" I exclaimed, "I think I need to change my pants."

The two of them just ignored me when they found some sort of button where the books were and Ashley was quick to press it and if things couldn't get any more strange it reveals a secret room behind the bookcase.

"Secret room. Why not?" I mumbled to myself as the three of us just stared at it.

"Go ahead." Chris said to me. I looked at him long and hard with the "You can't be serious," look. "Ash?" He asked.

"No no no," she replied and vigorously shook her head, "You're the guy."

"Andy's a guy!" He exclaimed.

Ashley and I exchanged looks and then looked at him, "You're the guy." We repeated and Ashley handed him the lamp. He reluctantly went inside to look around after Ashley and I chickened out.

"Whoa." I heard Chris.

"What is it?" I quickly asked. After not getting a response Ashley and I go to the entrance to see Chris with his back towards us, seemingly holding something.

"Alright you guys.." Chris spoke up and when he turned around he was holding something in his hand, "Don't freak out..but check this out." He tells us and I nervously take a photo from him.

At a first glance it's just a sweet photo of Beth and Hannah, her butterfly tattoo clearly visible. It seems like it was just yesterday when Hannah was flaunting it off to us all. It was bittersweet to see them so happy but to know that we'll never see them again made my stomach turn. But when I turn the photo around I felt my stomach churn and turnover when I read a threatening message of someone wanting to "rip the white skin off."

"This must be what the spirit wanted us to find." I shook my head and handed the picture to Ashley, I couldn't look it any more.

"You guys." She gasped, "This is serious! We need to find Josh right now." Chris and I quickly agree and he starts to piece together that there might be a killer hiding in the area.

It all started to make sense. When Sam and I first got here I could have sworn someone was following us and then seeing that wanted poster at the cable car station and now...reading that threat on the photo this was all unreal.

"If this is your way of trying to help me feel better..you're fired." Ashley this point my emotions are all over the place and anything could set me off in any kind of direction. It was hard to believe everything that's just happened all of a sudden, we hear something banging against the kitchen doors which makes me jump back and then it's quickly followed by Josh's screams. Before I could think of anything, Ashley is quick to run to his aid and as soon she opens the door I see her get sucked in.

"Ashley!" Chris and I yell and run to find the door not budging. Chris tries to slam into the door open with his shoulder but it was no use, "Move!" I yelled and took a step back. I took a calming breath before spinning around and kicking the doors wide open.

Chris ran in before I could and when I finally did I see him getting punched square in the face and he goes down onto the floor, joining Ashley who was unconscious as well. The assailant who attacked the two finally turned his attention towards me. I felt all the color leave my face when I saw someone dressed in a metal-black jumpsuit and a mask; the head of it was a dirty white with two cracked holes for eyes and a broken off nose piece, the mouth was an exposed set of broken and rotting teeth.

He quickly headed for me and my first instinct was to run but he quickly caught me from behind and pulled me back. I struggled and yelled until I felt a small pain in my arm like a needle getting stuck into my arm that's when my instincts kicked in, I took a deep breath and stopped struggling for a moment and with one swift movement I sent my elbow flying into the side of my attacker. I was dropped to the floor and I heard him groaning and cursing in an unnatural voice.

I stood up and looked out the kitchen doors for a second before turning back around to face whoever the hell this was. I quickly held my fist up and placed one foot behind the other, "You're going to be sorry for that." But as the words left my mouth I could feel my mind getting hazy and my vision getting blurry. As much as I tried to lunge after the masked assailant I felt myself not being able to move a muscle.

I stumbled forward, falling into the kitchen counter, "Wh-what did you do to me?" I mumbled.

"Don't worry," I heard the killer speak up and every time I would blink I could see him getting closer and closer. With one last effort I tried to send a punch at him but he easily caught it, "This will all be over soon." he menacingly chuckled before I felt a strong grip on my head and with one blow I felt him slam my face into the counter and everything after was just darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Choices

My eyes slowly fluttered open as everything came into focus, the only thing I could only make out was a blurry figure beside me. The last thing I remember was some crazy maniac with a mask. All of a sudden I was reminded that I got my face slammed into a counter when I felt a rush of pain in my forehead. I slowly propped myself up and sat up, looking around I saw that I was still in the kitchen of the lodge. The blurry figure beside me was Chris who was beginning to regain consciousness as well.

"Wh-what happened?" He groaned as he tried to stand, "Josh?! Ash?!" He yelled.

"Where are they?" I thought out loud.

"There's no time for questions, come on." Chris urged and made me follow behind him. I tagged closely behind until we came across the door that led into the living room. He slowly opened the door and I felt like I was just punched in the stomach when I saw blood splattered across the wall. I took in a big gulp as Chris cursed, "Shit!" he exclaimed and his steps got faster.

The living room was back to being cold and from the other side of me I could feel a slight cold breeze and could hear the soft moaning of the wind from outside. "The shed." Chris nodded to me and we quickly ended up outside. It was quiet as we walked, my mind was doing flips so I couldn't even think of what to say.

"Why is this happening?" I spoke up, I sounded like I was on the verge of crying.

"I-I don't know." Chris shrugged, "We just need to find out where Josh and Ashley are."

"Oh good you were right." I suddenly realized and before I knew it I had started crying, "There's a killer up here and-and-" But I couldn't even finish my sentence when I saw Chris whip around and he suddenly grabbed my shoulders.

"Hey," He said as he looked into my eyes and I noticed a big bruise on his forehead. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you okay?" And that's when I felt him hold my hand and gently pull me along. This was a side of Chris I'd never seen before. He was always just the goofy class clown, but now he seemed brave and calm.

As we continued to walk for a few more minutes I completely forget Chris was holding my hand until I thought I heard something from the woods and I grasped his hand tighter.

"Shouldn't you be the one protecting me?" He slightly chucked, trying to make me feel better.

"Your corny jokes should be enough to scare them off." I smiled back, but it quickly faded when I heard a slight yelling off in the distance. I could barely make out what the voice was yelling but it sounded like Chris and I's names. Not far from us I could see a shed of some sorts and as we slowly approached, I could hear clearly and the screams sounded like Ashley.

"Ashley!" Chris shouted and she replied with a panicked scream. "Where are you?" Chris continued as we finally entered the broken down shed. The wood that it was made of looked like it had been battered and beaten so bad from the weather. Inside was full of all sorts of chains, hooks and cages; it looked like a setup from Saw.

"Chris," Ashley sobbed, "Please help me!" She pleaded.

"I'm coming." Chris replied and I felt his hand slip away from mine as he frantically searched for the red head. "Just keep talking to me." He urged.

We followed her voice until we came to a back room. All of a sudden we see a spotlight shine on Ashley and Josh. There was a chain wall of some sorts separating them from us. As we got closer I could see my two friends tied up against a wall by their wrist. But what really made my body to tense up was the giant saw blade pointed right at them.

A distorted voice suddenly come on overhead, "Hello and thank you all for joining me." There were so many things going on that I couldn't focus. Ashley panicked even more and woke Josh, the psycho continued overhead about a test or something, and Chris was banging on the caged door but it didn't seem to budge. I wrapped my hands around my head to try and shut everything out to think but the distorted voice of the killer was too loud.

"Now for this experiment, we're going to need the cooperation of our two test subjects..Joshua and Ashley. But we're going to need a few more brave participants to decide..who's going to live and who's going to die."

I took my hands off my head when I heard what was just said and looked to Chris in disbelief, I felt my eyes starting to puff up. But before we could even comprehend what was happening the voice continued with more instructions.

"It's all very simple, the two of you will find a lever placed in front of you..all you have to do is chose who you will save."

I looked in front of us and saw the lever with Josh and Ashley's pictures on either side. Seconds later I heard the loud roaring of a machine and saw on the other side of the cage the giant spinning blade twirl uncontrollably fast. With it, came Josh and Ashley's panicked and fearful pleas. I ran towards the door once more and tried to get it open but it was sealed shut.

"I'm not doing this!" I shouted, "This is all fucked up. I-I'm not going to chose who gets sawed in half." I cried out and looked to Chris who was still in front of the lever and then at the spinning saw which was getting closer and closer to the two.

"I-I can't think." Chris shook his head as he had his hand in front of the lever. Before either of us could react I heard a click and I felt the sickest feeling in my stomach when I saw the saw begin to move towards Josh.

"No! I thought we we're friends!" He shouted at us.

I quickly began to shake my head and looked at Josh, "W-we didn't chose!" I shouted back, but it was too late. I saw the spinning blade come into contact with Josh's abdomen followed by his agonizing screams. Before I could witness the rest I felt someone turn me around and shove my face down into their shoulder. Big arms wrapped around my body and a gentle hand was placed on my head. "D-don't look." Chris shakingly whispered to me. I couldn't help it and let the tears fall out, as I heard the whirring of the saw mixed with Josh's screams.

But as fast as it all happened it was over just like that. I felt Chris' arms release me and heard another click. My body was shaking out of control as I slowly turned around to see Chris quickly running in to get Ashley down who was covered in blood; god there was so much blood. But still tied up was Josh's body sawed in half and I let out a pained cry when I saw his lifeless body there. Chris quickly returned and grabbed my hand once more as he dragged Ashley and I outside. Every part of me was in a state of shock and as much as I tried to keep up with Chris, it was so hard.

"Andy?! Chris?!" I heard a familiar shout. All of a sudden we stopped and I broke down on my hands and knees on the cold snowy ground. I looked up to see Emily and Matt rushing towards us.

"Blood?!" Emily exclaimed as she got closer, "Whose blood is that Ash?!"

"Are you okay?" Matt asked as he helped me stand up. I tried to talk but all that came out were sobs and babbling.

"Chris, what happened?" Emily quickly asked.

"J-Josh," Chris struggled to say, "He's dead. Right in front of us." He continued.

"There's a maniac-" I added, "H-he made us chose-" My voice broke, "It was Josh or Ash, but we didn't chose!" I cried.

"Oh my god! We've gotta get out of here!" Emily exclaimed.

As the three of us continued to break down. Emily and Matt tried to calm us down and told us that they were going to get help. "You guys get everyone else and we'll go get help." Emily told us. I finally had time to catch my breath and let out a long sigh.

"Come on guys." I sniffed, pulling Chris and Ashley along. The two of them continued to cry as we wobbled down the path towards the lodge. I don't know if it was from being attacked or if it was from everything that just happened but my head felt like it was about to explode. I didn't know how to deal with this, right before my eyes I saw one of my friends die. But I couldn't let it happen again. As the lodge came into view, I knew that I was going to do whatever it took to save everyone.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Hysteria

Chris, Ashley and I made it back to the lodge and searched the first two floors for Sam..but she was nowhere to be found. I couldn't help but think of the worst as I spoke up, "She's not here, what if-" I began before Chris stopped me.

"We'll find her." He reassured me, "We still haven't checked the basement."

Chris urged for us to follow him. As we descended the stairs to the first floor, I could hear Ashley thanking us for "saving" her. I looked to Chris and we both exchanged uneasy glances as we both knew the truth. Which now that I think about it is actually kinda of strange that the saw went to Josh without either of us doing anything but my thoughts were interrupted when I heard Ashley.

"I know you and Josh were close.." she continued on.

"Let's just focus on finding Sam." Chris replied, sounding a little annoyed.

"But I mean, he was your-"

I couldn't take it anymore and before I know it , "Shut up!" I yelled, "I don't think anyone here wants to think about what just happened so can you..just not." I shook my head at her. Ashley was about to speak up again, but I cut her off, "We're finding Sam and getting the hell out of here."

After my little outburst there was just silence. We were checking the 1st floor before actually heading down to the basement. And as I was about to follow Chris and Ashley through a room, the door just suddenly slams in front of my face. "Andy?" I heard Chris shout from the other side and he started pounding on the door, "Are you okay?" he quickly asked.

"I-It just shut by itself." I stuttered out of shock.

"It isn't opening." Chris replied, and wriggled the doorknob but nothing.

"You guys go on." I said, as much as I didn't want to.

"I'm not leaving you alone." Chris yelled back.

I took a big gulp, "I'll be fine." I replied; if he saw the expression on my face it wouldn't have been as convincing. Chris struggled to get the door open one more time but it just wouldn't open. He reluctantly agreed to go check out the basement which meant I was alone in the house once again. Should I just wait here for them? Should I go out and look for the others? Should I sleep? At this point I couldn't think right; my mind was going through a thousand things at one time.

I took my jacket off, revealing a flannel and t-shirt. I sat in the living room with my hands held up against the fire. There was time for me to finally stop and think; to take a breath. "Josh is dead." I whimpered to myself, it was still fresh in my mind. That's when that stupid goof suddenly popped into my head; Mike. I really hoped he was okay.

All of sudden, just like before I heard the creaking of the floorboards and the hairs on the back of my neck quickly stood up.

A killer was here with us on mountain and I was fully reminded of that just now. I slowly got up and looked at the house around me, the layout was pretty open but I felt like he could be anywhere right now; In a room waiting for me, lurking somewhere in the dark. As I took a step forward, I heard another creak of a floorboard echo through the house. That's when I heard the voice; that distorted monstrous voice that I've grown to quickly hate.

I was struck with fear when I heard it, "Hello Andy." The maniac's voice echoed.

The fire behind me suddenly went out and out of nowhere he appeared. Without even thinking I took off in a run for the side door. I rattled the doorknob for it to open but it wouldn't budge, once again I had to kick it open and a wave of snow and wind blew right into my face. I turned around to see the creepy menace trudging toward me and I ran out onto the veranda where I was with Mike and Jess earlier. I had no time to think about anything, just do; I frantically ran down the stairs and into the snow covered night. From behind me I could hear the maniac cursing in dissatisfaction for not being able to capture me.

I kept running until I was out of breath. I stopped to catch my breath and I felt a few stinging cuts in my cheek; it must have been from running through some tree branches. I looked ahead of me and there was nothing but complete darkness and behind me was the same. I was starting to reconsider if this was the best idea or not. I don't have to worry about being killed by a maniac...instead I might freeze to death or get mauled by some animals. Great.

I heard the crunching of the snow underneath my heavy feet as I slowly dragged them to avoid running into anything. I let out a relieved sigh when I saw some sort of dim light off in the distance. That must have meant I was getting close to something.

When I got closer and closer the light seemed to belong to a flashlight of some kind. The source was just beyond some branches and when I pushed through. I felt like my insides were melting. The light was from a cell phone and attached was an unconscious Jessica. There was blood all over her, and I quickly noticed a deep gash on her chest. She was in nothing but jeans and a shirt; who knows how long she's been out here.

"Jess!" I frantically called to her, "Jessica!" I tried and lightly tapped at her cheeks.

She finally came to with a pained groan and opened her eyes, "Not a bear." She weakly said.

I quickly gave her my jacket and tried to help her up, "Can you walk?" I asked to which she just nodded. I had no idea where the hell we were or where we were even going but I just continued following the path. If anything this would lead us back to the lodge...where the killer could be but I'll worry about that when the time comes.

"Jesus, what the fuck happened to you?" I gasped when I got a closer look at the cut, beaten, and bloodied girl.

"S-something dragged me all the way out here.." She weakly cried, "T-this thing wasn't human or animal."

I confusingly looked at her, that couldn't be right. The only logical explanation for this was that crazy masked maniac, but I didn't want to scare her even more.

"Is-Is Mike okay?" She asked.

I swallowed hard before replying, "I don't know.."

The two of us continued to walk in silence nothing but the whipping wind and heavy snow. The heavy flakes hit my exposed skin and sent shivers down my spine, I didn't know how long I could take this cold. What was supposed to be a reunion of friends turned out to be a game of cat and mouse with the killer as the cat and us as the mice.

"Maybe we deserve this..." Jess spoke up, "For what happened to Beth and Hannah..I regret it everyday."

"There's nothing we can do about it now.." I replied, I didn't mean for it to sound so forward but it was the truth, "What matters now is that you've realized it was a mistake. Jessica, I know you put off the bitchy mean girl persona, but I know underneath all of that you're really not. You may think you deserve this...but nobody deserves this."

"I can see why Mike likes you." She huffed.

"W-what?" I stuttered, caught off guard.

"Nobody else might not notice but I do. He's always looking at you even when my boobs are practically out of my shirt."

"I-I-"

"You should give him a chance." She interrupted. "He's not a bad guy."

"Let's worry about finding me a date later and focus on getting somewhere safe." I quickly replied when I saw the outline of the lodge not too far from us. I tried to get us inside as fast as I could. The door to the first floor was right there and I tugged Jessica along until we finally made it inside. The both of us were quiet for a moment in the darkness, anticipating something to happen. A few minutes pass and nothing changed so I finally let out a breath; we were safe..for now. Jessica and I went into one of the guest rooms and she quickly fell onto the bed.

"You stay here," I instructed her, "I'm going to look for the others." She was too exhausted to reply and just nodded.

I was back in the dark, quiet hallway. I tried as hard as I could to try and not be scared but I just kept expecting to hear that monstrous voice or see the maniac pop out of nowhere. I let out a deep sigh to try and calm myself, I just had to think about finding my friends which seemed to help a little. I remember Chris and Ashley headed down into the basement and as much as I didn't want to go down there but I had no other choice. Using my phone as a flashlight I delved deeper and deeper.

I never knew how big it was down here, it seemed to just go on and on. Every time I thought I heard something I would flinch and shine my phone in that direction. All of a sudden I came across a wine cabinet that seemed to have been pushed over and right past it was a door that was wide open.

"Something must have happened here..." I thought out loud.

And that's when it happened, I heard footsteps coming from the other side of that doorway and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.

"How nice of you to come back." the distorted voice said as I saw his disturbing silhouette in the doorway.

"Shit." I cursed and quickly turned to run, but I lost my footing and tripped over myself.

"You're not getting away this time." the masked psycho said and quickly grabbed me by leg. He dragged me closer to him and before I could even fight back I felt some sort of mask come over my mouth and I felt myself quickly losing consciousness.

* * *

"Andy..Andy wake up." I heard someone saying and then I felt a light tapping on my face.

"S-Sam?" I realized when I finally opened my eyes, "Where the hell are we..and why do you only have a towel on?"

"Long story." She sighed and began to untie me from the chair I was strapped to.

Another voice joined us out of nowhere, "Andy! Sam!"

The both of us looked around to find where it was coming from and looked down to see Mike behind some bars.

"Oh my god!" I gasped as we crouched to meet him, "You don't know how glad I am you found us."

"It's okay..you're okay now." He said quietly.

"How did you find us?" Sam asked.

"There's some kind of fucking maniac on this mountain. It's like a web of tunnels down here..I think he lives down here. But I was trying to get out of here and then I found this grate and saw the two of you."

"This fucker you're talking about h-he attacked me." I told them. "Chris and Ashley too."

"What about Josh?" Sam quickly asked.

I bowed my head and felt the tears begin to build up again, "Josh is dead." I regretfully told them. "This crazy asshole made us watch him get ripped apart."

"Jesus Christ." Mike breathed, "Everything is going to be alright." He tried to comfort me, "There's a door here but it won't open. Can you unlock it from your side?"

I nodded to him and the both of us stood up. Right beside us was a door and on the handle was a backpack and flashlight that seemed to be conveniently placed. Sam put the backpack on and handed me the flashlight. I cautiously opened the wooden door and flashed the light left and right before giving the Sam the OK to follow. There was a small set of stairs that led to door where Mike was. I saw a wooden slab holding the door in position, which was probably why it would open. I handed Sam the flashlight while I lifted the piece of wood up and quickly through it aside before opening the door to see Mike;

"Hey." He smirked before pulling me in for a hug.

Without even thinking I wrapped my around a around him too and for a moment it felt like I was just going to melt in his arms as he tightly squeezed me.

When we finally pulled apart Sam got a good look at him and saw how rough he looked, "Jeez, you look like hell."

"I could say the same to you guys." He snorted before he really got a good look at me and took my face into his hands. I expected my face to be banged up, but I didn't expect Mike to care this much about it.

"It's just a few cuts and bruises.." I said and tried to move my face away but he wouldn't let me.

"You're bleeding," he replied, "Did that fucker do this to you?"

"It's okay Mike. Really." I smiled at him; maybe Jessica was right.

"Do you two need some time alone or can we put this thing to bed?" Sam suddenly spoke up. I turned to look at her and see that she'd completely changed into a pair of gray yoga capris and a white T-shirt. She finished it off with a red jacket that was being zipped over the shirt.

"Lets finish this."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Twilight Zoned

The three of us walked out and in front of us was another door; metal and rusted this time. Then, off in the distance I could hear something..or maybe someone.

"Is that crying?" Mike thought out loud.

He and I nodded to each other, already thinking the same thing. I put my shoulder up to the door as did Mike and at the same time we pushed as hard as we could. The two of us nearly fell when the door swung open. Inside it was completely dark, until a spotlight turned on and I saw Ashley and Chris strapped down to chairs with a table separating them; except only one of Chris' hands were strapped down the other was trembling as it held a gun.

"No! Noo! Get away!" Ashley suddenly started screaming and I turned to see the masked psycho walking toward them. Gunshots quickly came after..but nothing. The psycho just opened his arms and chuckled as he walked toward them, unharmed.

"Oh Chris." He chuckled and made his way around the table, "You've heard of blanks before right? I mean really?" the masked man continued as I saw him put his hands up to his mask. I felt my stomach churn as I anticipated his every move and before I know it he's taking his mask off.

I couldn't fully comprehend what happened next. I was feeling confused, shocked and even betrayed as I looked at the masked man's real face to see Josh; smug smile and all.

"Josh?" Chris gasped.

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed as the three of us got closer.

"Josh!" Sam couldn't help herself.

"Oh very good!" He laughed, "Every one of you got my name. And after all you've been through! Good-good-good. I mean how does that feel?" He continued to taunt us, but his laughter suddenly stopped and his tone was replaced with something more vengeful.

"Right? How does it feel? Do you enjoy feeling terrorized? Humiliated? I mean, panicked? All those emotions my sisters got to feel one year ago! Only guess what?! They didn't get to laugh it off! Oh no. They're gone!" He shouted.

"I don't know if you noticed Josh, but none of us are laughing." Mike retorted as he helped untie Chris.

"Oh come on! Why the long faces? It's good to get the heart racing every now and then right? Josh continued and explained how he had faked his death and controlled the "supernatural" events that had happened all over the house. "You guys are going to thank me when you become internet sensations!"

"Wait what?" I finally spoke up.

"Oh you better believe this little puppy is going viral! I mean we've got unrequited love-not the one I expected if I might add and we got-we got blood!" he explained.

"Wha-what do you-" But before I could even finish my question I saw my picture on the table. "What is this doing here?" I glared at him.

"Andy, I-" Chris spoke up.

"You've got some explaining to do Chris." Josh laughed.

"Enough of this!" Mike exclaimed and suddenly marched up to Josh, "You've caused enough trouble!" He said before knocking him out with a punch.

I let out a sigh and ran my hands through my hair, "This is all fucked.."

Everyone was pretty adamant on tying Josh up so Mike and Chris tied his arms together and we all agreed it would be better if he was somewhere where he couldn't do anything to anyone. The boys and I were the ones to personally escort our crazy friend to the shed. Mike and Chris probably could have handled it on their own, but someone had to make sure they didn't end up killing Josh themselves.

"Guys! Come on!" Josh pleaded.

"Shut up." Mike quickly retorted and pushed him over.

Josh knelt on his knees, he looked broken and helpless, "Chris-Chris-Dude..Bro."

"I'm not your bro!" Chris snapped.

"Just keep walking." Mike demanded and shoved him forward, "We're locking you up until the morning so you can't do anything stupid until the cops show up." He told him as we came up to the shed. Mike suddenly shoved him to the ground and started roughing him up.

"Mike..come on." I tried stopping him.

"This is not how it was supposed to go down-" Josh struggled again right before we could get into the shed, "You're just a bunch of bullies. Y-you can't hang out a guy to dry like this guys." He paused before being chest to chest with Mike, "Not like..Not like you got the guts to do anything about it!" he taunted.

I saw Mike's jaw tighten and he pushed Josh down again.

"Oh stuff it, you're the biggest coward there is-" Chris spoke up.

Josh tried to defend himself, "Uh huh? I _did_ something. I _made_ you believe in the world I created and showed you parts of yourself that you were too afraid to visit." He suddenly shot a look at me when he said the last part.

"You manipulated us, you tricked us, you hurt your friends and you did it all while you hid in the shadows. You're a coward Josh, that's all you are." Chris replied, dropping the metaphorical mic.

When we finally got into the shed he continued to struggle and I could hear it in his voice that he was slowly losing it. Something snapped within him and even though what he did was beyond insane I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He mumbled on and on about incoherent things and he was sounding more and more crazy. After a little effort we were able to finally get him tied to up to a chair and he began talking about plastic ties and hostages and what not. He looked off into the air and began talking to himself. This wasn't the Josh that I knew.

"I've never seen him like this.." Chris sighed as we heard Josh laughing to himself.

"Chris is a dumb dumb." I suddenly heard and Chris walked towards him, "What was that?" He demanded.

Josh began to make kissing noises and laughed, "I know the truth now. You know what the sound of that is?" He asked, "Not Ashley! But Andy!" He exclaimed, "That's the sound of you never kissing Andy! You pussy!" Josh shouted.

Did he just say my name? Chris wanted to kiss.. _me?_

"Stop!" Chris yelled and suddenly grabbed a wooden stick.

"You know Andy? You might as well just sleep with Mike?" Josh suddenly spoke to me. "At least he's got some notches in his belt! He'll treat you right!" he taunted.

"I'm going to knock his fucking head off!" Chris shouted and was about to swing at Josh before I quickly caught his arm and stopped him. "He's just trying to get you riled up." I shook my head and tried to calm him down.

"What is he talking about?" Mike asked, I was dying to know as well.

"Surprise Mikey boy! You're not the only one with the secret crush." Josh chuckled. "Maybe I should have started with Andy." He admitted, "I would have shown you a better time than these two dickheads." He darkly laughed.

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Mike snapped and he was about to punch Josh square in the face but I was quick to stop him like Chris.

"What is with you guys?!" I yelled, "Yes. Josh is..a little crazy. But we can't treat him like this."

"Andy...Josh killed Jessica." Mike admitted, but oh how wrong he was.

"...what," I shook my head, "I found Jessica, she's a little beaten up...but she's definitely not dead."

"What?" Mike replied, confusion washed over his face, "Well it doesn't matter. He still deserves to be tied up for what he did-for attacking you." That's when I heard Chris let out a cough, but I could tell it was intentional.

"God! Why don't the three of you just get a room already!" I heard Josh shout and the three of us just sent glares his way.

Mike pulled me aside with Chris following, "I think you guys should start heading back," he changed the subject, "The others are probably getting nervous. I'll stay with this lunatic until morning."

"You shouldn't be watching him by yourself." I quickly protested.

"As much as I would like for you to stay..I'll be fine." Mike reassured me and smiled. That's when he nudged me into Chris and spoke to him, "Don't let anything happen to him alright?"

I felt an arm come over my shoulder and felt Chris pull me closer to him, "Trust me I won't." He replied.

The two of us turned around to walk, but before we could I was pulled back by Mike. I felt his arms slide under my own and wrap around my chest and stomach. The back of my head rested perfectly under his chin as he squeezed me tighter, "I'm glad you're okay." He sighed in relief before finally letting me go.

"We've got to go," Chris interrupted and grabbed my hand, "Come on." He said and quickly pulled my hand.

The two of us had been friends since the 6th grade, normally we would be talking up a storm or trying to joke around with each other. But right now it was just quiet and awkward, I didn't know if what Josh said was true or if it was all part of his scheme.

"We're going to have to talk sooner or later.." He nervously chuckled.

"I was waiting for you to say something." I smirked. "..that stuff Josh said back there..is it all true?" I finally asked.

Chris let out a deep sigh before replying, "Yes. Back in the basement..when we were strapped to those chairs he made me choose again. I had to chose who was going to 'live.' If I chose you, me and Ash were free to go; if I chose her, it was you and me...and if I chose myself it would be you and Ash. In that moment it all felt real and Ash, she-she confessed everything to me..her feelings. But I didn't feel the same way..instead I said how much I regretted not telling you about my feelings. Andy..I've always liked you..I-I mean I still do."

I opened my mouth to speak but I was honestly at a loss of words, I couldn't say anything no matter how hard I tried..I didn't know what this meant. Chris has always been there..as my friend and I didn't know if I could think of him as anything else.

"Speechless." He nervously laughed, "I don't know if that's good or bad..."

"I-I don't know either.." I honestly replied. Chris' expression changed as I spoke and I couldn't help but feel like I just hurt a puppy.

"I get it." He tried to smile, "I can't compete with Mr. Class President."

"Chris-" I began but before I could even say anything else he just grabbed my hand and pulled me along as we came up to the lodge.

"You can profess your undying love for me later." He smirked.

* * *

 **Surprised? Lol, let me know what you guys think.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Wendi-What?

We entered the lodge and saw the girls, Jessica included, huddled on the couch with another fire going. They seemed to have cleaned her up a bit and gotten her a change of clothes; I felt like I should do the same.

I walked with heavy steps into the bathroom and turned on the light, seeing my own beat up reflection in the mirror. There was a slight bruise on my forehead from when I fought with Josh and a few cuts scattered around my face and lip. I just stared at myself for a few seconds as I waited for the water to turn hot. The bathroom was beginning to fog up as the steam rolled off the sink. I got a handful of it and splashed it all over my face, the cuts stung as the water seeped into them. After a few more washes the cuts were a little more raw and red but I didn't look as roughed up and dirty.

I returned to everyone else and saw Jess laid out on one couch, Sam and Ashley were huddled together, and Chris was sprawled out. I ran over and quickly joined him. I didn't know about the others but I felt like I had just been hit by a car; my bones ached, I was exhausted and I was cold. This felt like a better time than any to finally shut my eyes. I didn't even think anything of it and rested my head on Chris' shoulder.

But just as I was about to drift away I heard the most ear piercing scream that cut through the forest.

Everyone jumped at the sound and flinched when there was suddenly a loud pounding on the door followed by someone screaming at the top of their lungs

"Let us in!"

"Is that Emily?" I thought out loud as everyone rushed after the door.

"Hurry up!" Another voice came; Matt's.

Chris left my side and was the first to get to the door and quickly opened it. Emily plummeted inside and onto the floor in a panic followed by Matt.

"Shut the door! Shut the door!" She shouted as Matt hastily slammed the door. The girls picked her up and quickly took her to the living room to calm down as Chris and I walked with Matt, who was too in shock from whatever they saw outisde. As we joined them in the living room I heard her going on about some kind of "monster."

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked.

"You guys have no idea what this fucking _thing_ is." Matt reiterated.

"I-It was Josh." I replied, "It was all Josh. He's all tied up, he can't hurt you." I tried.

"No, no, no listen to me-" Emily continued to panic, "It was after us, and it wasn't human!" She cried.

"She's not lying." A weak voice spoke up and we all turned to Jessica, who was sitting upright on the couch, "Whatever pulled me out out there..it wasn't-"

"Oh my god!" Emily exclaimed, "Jess you're okay!" Everything that happened earlier didn't seem to matter now.

"Can you guys tell us exactly what happened?" Chris asked.

Emily took a breath before somewhat calming down, "I'm trying to tell you." She shook her head, "We were climbing up the tower and it fell. The whole tower just fell- right into the mines."

Before any of us could even ask the question Matt continued on, "There are these mine shafts all over, running under everything, when the tower fell we ended up under there."

All of a sudden Mike comes running in as he continued to explain what happened to them.

But I couldn't take it anymore.I turned around and put my hands up to my head, I didn't want to hear it anymore.

"We got through to someone on the radio, but that's when the tower collapsed," Matt tried to calm me.

"It should all be over, Josh was to blame for all of this right?" I heavily breathed. "And he's tied up now so that should have stopped everything. There can't be _mines_ and _monsters_!"

I couldn't think straight. It was hitting me all at once, "No, no, no, this can't be happening." I thought outloud and paced back and forth.

I could feel my breathing getting heavier and heavier; my chest felt like it was about to explode but at the same time my body was going numb. I continued to pace back and forth before I was abruptly stopped and someone cupped my face in their hands.

Mike's eyes stared deeply into my own, "Andy," He calmly spoke, "Just focus and breath with me," he said and began to take deep breaths which I tried to follow, "Good. You're doing great, now let's count to 10." He calmly instructed and we proceeded to do so. After reaching 10 I was still feeling a little anxious but butter.

My little panic attack left everyone silent. All their eyes on me.

All of a sudden there came a knock from upstairs.

"Who the fuck can that be?" Mike thought out loud. "We should check it out." he suggested.

"We got your back." Chris spoke up for Matt and tapped Mike on the shoulder.

"I can go with you guys." Almost simultaneously the both of them shook their heads and replied with a hard, "No."

"I've never seen you have a panic attack before-" Mike began.

"You need take it easy." Chris cut in.

"The three of us can handle it." Matt reassured me.

I sat back down and caught my breath again while the others went to check out whoever was at the door.

Sam sat beside me and put an arm around me, "I didn't know you had panic attacks."

"I don't have them often..this was probably the first I've had in awhile." I sighed.

"There's nothing to worry about. I'm sure what Matt and Em saw was all part of Josh's plan."

All of a sudden I see the boys scrambling back and heavy footsteps following behind them. An older man dressed in heavy clothes entered with some kind flamethrower attached to him. His beanie covered most of his head except for a few long grey stragglers, but the thing that caught my attention the most was a scar over his right eye that left his iris a whitish color.

"Who the hell is this guy?!" I stood up.

"Let me say what I came to say," he demanded, his voice was deep and hoarse.

I immediately sat back down as did everyone else.

The stranger eyed all of us and sighed, "I'm here to tell you what you're up against being back on this mountain-"

"Nothing to worry about?" I whispered to Sam.

"You should never have returned," We all watched him as he walked towards the fire and continued to face it, "I don't know why you did after what happened last year," he mentioned and dropped a sack beside him.

"You mean with Hannah and Beth…?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah, how could you know about that without being involved –" Chris began.

"Or responsible –" continued Sam.

The stranger whipped around to face us. "You hold onto your horse. I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain–"

"Your mountain?" Mike scoffed. "I'm sure the Washington's would be very surprised to hear that…"

The old man cackled, "Well this mountain don't belong to me, it's true. But it don't belong to the Washington's. This mountain belongs to the Wendigo."

"A what?" Chris whispered to me but I just shrugged.

"What the hell's a Wendigo?" Mike quickly asked.

"Now I'm only gonna tell you this once. It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not. I got reasons I want to…get it off of my chest…"

I felt Mike getting riled up beside me, "See! I told you. He's guilty as shit! Guilty of something!"

"Shh," I hushed him, "Let's listen first and then make judgemental comments later."

"There is a curse. That dwells in these mountains. Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods, the spirit of the Wendigo shall be released."

"Oh crap." I heard Mike mutter beside me and I felt his hand come over my own and he tightly clenched it.

"You're going to need to find somewhere safe."

"The basement might be okay," Sam suggested.

"Get down there, now. All of you. And wait," instructed the stranger.

"What? Why? For how long?" I hastily asked.

"Until dawn," Emily replied tiredly.

"Guys…" Mike suddenly spoke up, "I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming…"

"Where did you leave him?" asked the stranger.

"In the shed."

"Ah…Your friend will already be dead," The man easily told us.

"Wait what?," I couldn't believe what he was saying, "No," I shook my head.

Chris stood up, "W-we were just with him."

"A lot can happen quickly on this mountain," the stranger said lowly.

"I can't let anything happen to him." Chris urged, "We can't just let him die. I have to go after him."

I stood up beside Chris, "You can't go by yourself."

"Oh no, no, no." Mike quickly opposed, "I'm definitely not letting you go out there." He added.

"Andy, listen to Mike." Chris agreed, "This is something I can't let you-"

"Then I'll go with you." The stranger cut in.

"I don't need your help," Chris quickly denied.

"Chris..h-he has a flamethrower." I pointed out.

"Fine.." he sighed.

"The rest of you, get down to the basement. Be safe." He ordered. "Don't go outside again until we're back."

He then turned to Chris and talked to him one on one about what was happening and how he needed to do everything the stranger told him. Before long the two of them were heading out and I found myself chasing after them.

"Chris!" I yelled, and he turned around with a surprised look on his face.

"You are not coming." He insisted, and I saw him look away, "...if anything happened to you I-" Before he could finish I pulled him by his jacket and felt his lips lightly press against my own.

"I-I just wanted to see how that felt," I breathed as we broke apart. I saw him smile and touch his lips before the stranger interrupted.

"Do you guys need a minute or did you forget about your friend?"

"Right." Chris coughed up, "I'll be back." He nodded to me before following the flamethrowing stranger outside. I locked the door behind them and watched on as they disappeared into the snow storm.

While everyone else headed down to the basement, I decided to stay back and wait for Chris and the stranger. But of course Mike stayed back with me. The two of us sat on the couch, as an awkward silence filled the air. That's when I began to nervously bounce my leg up and down.

"You're not going to the basement?" I spoke up.

"Are you kidding?" he scoffed, "I'm not leaving you alone." He smiled all of a sudden he put his hand on my leg to stop me from bouncing it. "Let's think about something else. Get your mind off...everything."

"Good luck," I replied how did he expect me to not think of what was going on?

"Remember that night at the party?" Mike spoke up.

"How could I forget.." My voice trailed off.

"I remember.." Mike confessed, "I know I said I barely remember what happened but I lied. I remember..everything..and I think that's when I knew."

"K-knew?" I stuttered.

"I love you Andy." Mike shrugged, "I think I've known it for a long time now..but everything that's happened tonight, all I could think about was you-"

"Mike..I-I..Why are you suddenly telling me this now?"

"I-if something happens tonight...I just-"

"Nobody is dying tonight." I cut him off.

"J-just let me finish." He continued, "I saw you and Chris earlier and I don't care if it's him or me but I think it's finally time for you to know how I feel..." His voice trailed off as he looked away.

I was in complete awe, this was Mike Munroe saying this; class president, ladies man, scared of commitment Mike and yet here he was saying all those things

"..I-I don't know." I breathed. "I-"

"It's okay. I get it." He sniffed. "I've always been kind of jerk to you."

"Mike." I sighed, "There's just a lot going on right now, I think I'm more focused on trying to not die and worrying about my friends. I don't have time to figure out my feelings..."

"I know it'll probably be in the end anyway." He tried joking but before I could say anything there was a loud banging followed by someone yelling.

The two of us quickly whipped around.

I quickly recognized Chris' voice, "Somebody let me in!"

Mike and I nearly knocked everything over as we ran to the door. As I rounded the corner I saw someone just standing there as Chris shouted and frantically rustled the door handle. I didn't have time to think and just quickly ran, I shoved whoever it was out of the way and quickly opened the door.

"Oh thank god!" Chris struggled to say as he limped into the house, he quickly slammed the door. "We gotta go!" he shouted.

"Wh-what happened?!" Mike quickly asked.

"That thing was right behind me-"

Before I could say anything I saw _something_ leap in front of the door. I didn't know if it was from the exhaustion or from just having an anxiety attack but didn't know what the hell I was looking at. But I didn't get to get a good look at it before I was pulled away.

"What the fuck was that?" I panted as we made it to the basement. I leaned against a table and saw Mike helping Chris in and when I thought that was everyone I see Ashley running in, out of breath like the rest of us.

"What took you guys so long?" Sam quickly asked.

"It's not so good up there right now-" Chris breathed.

"Understatement of the night." Mike added.

Sam looked around and then back at Chris, "..where's the flamethrower guy?"

"Ah..yeah..he uh-"

"He didn't make it?" I quickly asked.

Chris bowed his head and spoke, "..it tore him apart..right in front of me." his voice breaking at every word, "..almost got me too."

I went to his side and lightly nudged him, "You made it. You're a badass." I tried to make him feel better.

That's when I remembered what happened and glared at Ashley, "And what were you doing just standing there?" I yelled.

The others were too busy talking to each other to hear my outburst. The red head seemed caught off guard and couldn't speak; a guilty expression washed over her face. Before I could yell at her anymore, I felt someone tug at my shirt and saw Chris staring at me with his blue eyes. I could tell from his expression that he wanted me to stop, "this isn't the time," I imagined him saying.

All of a sudden I see Mike about to leave, "Whoa whoa whoa, where the hell are you going?" I spoke up.

"I'm getting us out of here." He replied. I opened my mouth to speak but he just stopped me, "Stay here...take care of Chris." I saw a half smile come across his face and then he suddenly pulled me into him. His arms tightened around me and I didn't want to let him go, "You guys know what to do. No one leaves..."

He looked around the room and lastly at me, "I'll be back soon."


End file.
